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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada’s new head of state is aligned with the priorities of many Canadians on issues like the environment and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Trudeau and a group of other Canadians – including Governor General Mary Simon – attended the coronation of King Charles III on Friday, and the prime minister spoke to the media before leaving for Canada on Friday.
Trudeau said he knew Charles as “a person who has been very committed to protecting and preserving nature, a person who has shown incredible openness, aware of the challenges of the colonial history that has been wrapped up by the Crown.”
“The work that we’ve done to reach out to Indigenous leaders over the last several years, including again this week, I think is in line with some of the top priorities of Canadians.”
Charles’ accession to the throne has been met with a lukewarm response in many countries, with polls showing that a majority of Canadians support not recognizing him as head of state.
Trudeau said last week that while there is a lot of talk about whether to get rid of the monarchy in Canada, he doesn’t understand an agreement on an alternative and that Canadians are focused on other things.
And Simon told the CBC Housein the interview that aired there, that Canada should give Charles the opportunity to prove himself as King.
King Charles was crowned, along with his wife Queen Camilla, in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday. Read the highlights of the ceremony – and the moment the newly crowned King greeted the public from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
John Craig, a professor of English and British history at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University, says most Canadians don’t think much of the monarchy.
“Apart from the odd visit from one of the royals or another, it seems to be very far from people’s lives,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
However, Craig also said he did not perceive “real interest” in changing Canada’s constitutional rules, from citizens or politicians.
Discussion of his 1st visit as King
Canadians will see Charles when the prince travels to Canada with his wife, Camilla, in 2021. The two will visit Newfoundland and Labrador, Ottawa and the Northwest Territories.
It is unclear when the King will visit Canada next. Talk to the CBC Power & Politics Friday, Canada’s top envoy to the UK said he believed the trip would happen “relatively quickly.”
“I understand that there is now a serious conversation about when the first available date is to travel to Canada,” said Ralph Goodale.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc told CBC News on Saturday that he hopes the trip will go ahead.
“He has been to Canada many times, but it will be a different feeling if the Prince of Canadian soil is the king of Canada,” said LeBlanc, whose father Roméo LeBlanc was Governor General from 1995 to 1999.
The king, the indigenous leader met
Members of the Canadian government wanted to emphasize the fact that Charles had met, before his coronation, with the leaders of the three main national Indigenous groups in Canada.
The meeting was facilitated by Governor General Simon, who in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live Sunday said that participants have discussed – although with few details – the possibility of an official apology by the Crown for its role in colonization and the residential school system in Canada.
Simon said he did not know whether an apology and subsequent actions would happen, noting that before an official apology – such as from the Canadian government in 2008 regarding residential schools – was years in the making.
Canadian Governor Mary Simon said King Charles III is aware of the issues facing Canadians but must engage with citizens to reaffirm the role of the Royal Family.
“There’s a lot of work to be done and we all know that,” Simon said. “But to start in a positive way and move forward, I think it’s an important part, because it’s part of reconciliation.”
Indigenous leaders left Thursday’s meeting calling it “productive” and “positive,” and marking an inflection point in relations between the Crown and Indigenous people.
“When I spoke to the King today, I mentioned one of the elders, who said that relationships are made over 100 cups of tea,” said Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron.
“Today, we have the first cup of tea, to build that relationship, to identify common priorities and we move forward together, to find ways to work together that will make real and tangible changes in our community.”
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